More than 1600 homes evacuated due to Herriman fire

Wildfire continuously burns some areas of Herriman near Camp Williams. Four homes have been destroyed by a fire in Utah that authorities believe started when some National Guard members were in the middle of a training exercise with guns.

About 1,600 homes were evacuated Sunday, though most residents had somewhere to stay. About 80 people were sheltered at Herriman High School through the night, just one of the reasons that seven schools in the Herriman area are closed Monday.

Large numbers of students have been displaced by the mandatory evacuation, according to a statement on Herriman's website.

Schools also need time to allow the smoke to dissipate from the buildings, and it's anticipated that some areas of the fire may not be entirely extinguished Monday, according to Deseret News.

Utah National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Hank McIntire told the Salt Lake Tribune that dry brush had caught fire during an artillery training session at Camp Williams, and soldiers did not have the manpower or equipment to stop it from rapidly spreading.

"It was kind of a perfect storm scenario where once the fire started on the firing range at the National Guard base, the wind really kicked up," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson, who saw homes catch fire. "Literally, the fire was coming down into the backyards of many of these residents," The Associated Press reports.